There's a wonderful enthusiasm to Walter Borneman's accounting of these four incredible naval figures, and that was the most enjoyable part of this extremely well-researched book. Any military history buff would really devour such a barrage of information.

For me, who is definitely not a military history buff, it felt like a bit of a slog and I realized I was eager to read about World War II from an angle that wasn't quite so specific. So I abandoned this book. But out of my own impatience, not because it lacks merit, and I really appreciate the advance reader's copy provided by the publisher.